Archive for October, 2013

With the crisis over the issue of an election-time government deepening, the ruling and opposition camps have asked their grassroots leaders and activists to mobilise apparently to battle it out in the streets. The BNP-led opposition alliance in many areas has already formed committees to ‘resist’ the next parliamentary polls if it is held under the Hasina-led government. The Awami […]

The Editors Council on Wednesday expressed grave concern over attacks on newsmen and media-houses by political activists over the last few days amid political turmoil. Movement of newsmen and their vehicles have always been out of the purview of hartals and blockades but at least 19 journalists were injured, four media offices and some vehicles of media houses came under […]

At least eight people were killed and 25 others injured in a triangular collision involving two buses and a truck at Joypura on Dhaka-Aricha Highway in Dhamrai upazila of Dhaka district on Wednesday evening. Six of the deceased were identified as Dilara, 28, and Jalil, 58, of Dhamrai, Majnu, 50, Awlad, 45, and Montaz, 55, of Saturia in Manikganj, and […]

A Dhaka court on Wednesday ordered freezing of two bank accounts of businessman Giasuddin Al Mamun in London. Court officials said that Giasuddin deposited 418,853 UK pound sterling equivalent to Tk 60157,762 in his two accounts with NatWest Bank’s Aldwych branch in London between 2003 and 2006. Special Judges’ Court-3 judge Md Motahar Hossain issued the order after hearing an […]

The foreign minister, Dipu Moni, on Wednesday urged the international community to continue to show a ‘balanced understanding’ on the political situation in Bangladesh in respect to the democratic aspirations of people to elect their representatives in a free, fair and peaceful election. ‘We are confident that at the end of the day, it is the people’s rights and verdicts […]

Awami League general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam on Wednesday said that the prime minister’s invitation to opposition leader Khaleda Zia for dialogue is still valid. ‘They [BNP] are seeking fresh invitation to sit for dialogue. But we have not withdrawn our previous invitation, it is still pending,’ he said, adding that the opposition leader may respond to the invitation anytime. […]

The functions of the government have not changed after October 27 when the 90-day countdown to the next general elections began, since there are no legal or constitutional guidelines as to how the polls-time administration should run, experts say. As per law, the bureaucracy will have to carry out the decisions of the cabinet led by the prime minister, Sheikh […]

Most of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led opposition alliance leaders at a meeting on Wednesday gave opinion for enforcing a 3-day countrywide general strike from November 4 for holding the next general election under a non-party neutral government. BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia held the meeting with the alliance leaders at her Gulshan office at 9:45pm to decide the next course of […]

The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Wednesday said that the people should know the detail of the phone conversation between her and opposition leader Khaleda Zia instead of fragments of it. Commenting on the leakage of the details of the conversation at a meeting with AL leaders and lawmakers from Dhaka division at Ganabhaban, she said, ‘Let people know the […]

The parliamentary standing committee on finance ministry on Wednesday finalised its recommendation for the passage of the Grameen Bank Bill that had sought enactment of a new law to bring the microcredit institution under the strong watch of the central bank. The parliamentary watchdog assigned to scrutinise the bill, enactment of which would repeal the Grameen Bank Ordinance 1983, at […]

A speeding bus exploded in a ball of flames after crashing into the central reservation of a southern Indian highway early Wednesday, killing 45 passengers as they slept. Only five people on the vehicle escaped the inferno, including the driver and the cleaner who broke windows and fled before the fuel tank exploded, the police said. ‘The total number of […]

A delegation of the Communist Party of Bangladesh and Socialist Party of Bangladesh met with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson, Khaleda Zia, on Wednesday and called for finding a way out of the present political crisis on the basis of any for mula for holding an inclusive general election. The two left parties urged the BNP chief to leave the […]

The Anti-Corruption Commission on Wednesday approved 12 cases against 53 people for embezzlement of about Tk 1,200 crore from five banks by Bismillah Group. The cases will be filed by next week, a commission official said. A meeting of the commission, after scrutinising the probe report on the bank scam by Bismillah Group, approved the filing of the cases against […]

Three ruling party men – two of Awami League and the other of Juba League – were shot and hacked to dead in Jessore, Pabna and Narsingdi on Wednesday while a Juba League activist’s tendons of both hand were severed in Sylhet on Tuesday night. The deceased were identified as Nazrul Islam, 52, secretary of Awami League Jessore municipality Ward […]

The government is going to waive interest on loans taken by some 346 industrial units in the private sector which have been identified as sick, officials said. Moreover, the entrepreneurs of those industries might be allowed to regularise their loan portfolios by paying only 1 per cent of the principle amount as down payment. The officials said banking and financial […]

The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Wednesday urged the members of Bangladesh Air Force to keep themselves always ready to protect the constitution of the country. The prime minister said this while addressing a ‘darbar’ of air force at BAF Base Bashar in Dhaka Cantonment in the morning. She also said that Bangladesh Air Force would be provided with everything […]

Two alleged forest robbers were killed in a ‘shootout’ with Rapid Action Battalion in Shelargang area of Sundarban under Mongla upazila on Wednesday morning. The deceased were identified as Mortoza Hossain Rana, 30, ringleader of ‘Mortoza Bahini’ of Joymoni village of the upazila, and Mosharof Hossain, 32, deputy commander of ‘Mortoza Bahini’ of the same village. A team of the […]

Cricket fans on Wednesday vandalised the branch of United Commercial Bank at Mirpur-10 as many of them failed to collect tickets for second one-day international between Bangladesh and New Zealand. They became angry failing to collect the tickets after waiting for hours in the queue in front of the UCBL branch that sold the tickets. Later, police dispersed them by […]

A Dash 8 aircraft of Regent Airways met an accident on the runway at the Cox’s Bazar Airport on Wednesday evening after a fox jumped on its front wheels. The 15 passengers and four crew on board, however, were unhurt when the accident took place at about 6:45pm, claimed the airway’s chief commercial officer, Ashish Roy Chowdhury. The hydraulic part […]

Police and a journalist have filed general diaries against Farhad Mazhar, accusing the columnist of inciting attacks on journalists from a TV talk show. Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Tejgaon zone deputy commissioner Biplob Kumar Sarkar confirmed the filing of the GDs with Tejgaon police station Wednesday night. The GDs also accused Jatiya Party leader Kazi Firoz Rashid. The move came after […]